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Monday, August 22, 2011

Tombstone Tuesday - Abraham and Mary Turnbach nee Blanchfield

Abraham and Mary Turnbach nee Blanchfield are my great great uncle and aunt. Mary is my great grandmother's sister.

Abraham was the son of Milton and Bridget Turnbach nee Dugan. He was born on February 25, 1877 in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. He died on December 9, 1918.

Mary was the oldest daughter of Martin and Anna Blanchfield nee Boyle. She was born on November 11, 1879 in New York, NY and died in 1919.

Abraham and Mary had at least 8 children (Milton, William, Robert, Mary, Elizabeth, Ann and 2 unknown children). Both Abraham and Mary died so close to each other that the first thought that had jumped into my mind was "Flu". This would have been during the height of the 1918 pandemic (at least for Abraham). Sometimes guesses are wrong.

Abraham died in a mining accident. He did repair work in the coal mines and was electrocuted. It stated on his death certificate that his cause of death was "Electric shock - came in contact with hot wires."

I don't have Mary's death certificate. The last time I requested it I received notice of a failed search. I'll have to try again soon or see if one of my genealogy cousins was lucky enough to get a copy. I suppose it's possible that she could have succumb to the epidemic, but not knowing when in 1919 she passed does put a bit of a damper on that.

What is sad aside from them dying so close to each other? Their youngest was only about 4 years old. Luckily (if there can be luck) their oldest was nearly 20 and the family stayed together.

Abraham and Mary are buried in St. Mary's cemetery, Beaver Meadows, Pennsylvania.